Combined carton and dispenser.



E. C. BALDWIN. COMBINED CARTON AND DISPENSER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN- 8, i914- Patented Feb. 27, 1917.

' dispensing EDWARDO. BALDWIN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

COMBINED CARTON AND DISPENSER:

To all whom it may concern:

EDWARD C.- BALDWIN,

Be it known that I, of Boston, in 'the countyof Sufiolk and State of Massachusetts, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Combined Cartons and Dispensers, of which the center of the box, as

following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for dispensing flat articles, one at a time, and relates particularly to means for enabling individuals to obtain sanitary drinking-cups of the kind illustrated in Letters Patent, No. 1,129,778, granted to me February 23, 1915, for folding drinking-cup, said cups having fins to form' handles.

The object of the invention is to provide a device of low cost, and in which the cups can be shipped to the customer, and from which the cups can be removed, one at a time. In other words, the device'is practically a shipping package, which is also a dispensing device, so that the cups do not require to be transferred from the wrapper in which they are shipped, into a separate receptacle for delivery to individual users.

Another object is to provide a device of this character which will permit the articles to be removed in either one of the two directions.

, To these ends the invention consists in the improve ents which I shall proceed to describe an claim.

Of the accompanying drawings,-'

Figure 1 is a plan view of a blank which may be folded up to constitute a carton for the cups and which may be also used as a holder for said cups, thereby rendering it unnecessary to transfer the cups from the carton in which they are shipped into a receptacle from which they may be dispensed.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the condition of the device as a cartonfor the shipment of the cups.

Fig. 3 represents a vertical through the carton when the latter is supported by a bracket to enable it to be used as a dispenser for the cups, said figure also illlustrating reinforcements for the retaining 1P8.

Fig. 4 is a carton mounted ina bracket holder.

Fig. 5 represents a section on line of Fig. 4.

Similar reference characters indicate similar parts in all the figures.

section side elevation of the dispensing- Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Feb, 27, 1917.

Application filed January 8, 1914. Serial No. 811,036.

A vertically elongated box or carton body 12 is preferably made from a blank of paper, pasteboard, or other suitable material, which is folded to a substantially rectangular form in cross section, the lower end being inclined relatively to the longitudinal clearly indicated in'the drawings, the upper end'havin-g interfoldable flaps 13 to enable the box or carton to be filled with a plurality of papercups a, having fin'handles a, such as shown in m patent above referred to. As illustrated l y comparing Figs. 1 and 2 the carton may be conveniently made from a blank having side Wings one of which has slits and the other has tongues to interengage when the blank is folded from its flat condition to rectangw lar or box-like form. Atone end of the middle portion of the blank, and at one end of one of the side wings, I provide lips 14 which, when'the blank is folded to box-like form, are bent toward each other as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. These lips form stops for the edge portions of the cups, leaving a space or opening between said lips through which the bottommost cup can be removed as hereinafter described. The lips are separated from the body of the holder prefereither by grasping the'fin handle a and pulling the cup directly outward, the cup springln or yielding so that its edges can be with rawn from, by simply sliding the bottommost cup edgewise, it can be withdrawn through the slits 15, this sliding being effected either by grasping the fin handle a and-directing the cup laterally or by pressing the thumb and finger against the bottommost edge of the cup and sliding it'outwardly. The reason why the bottommost cup may be removed in the first of the two ways mentioned is that the lips 14: are the only stops for retaining the articles, and the inside distance from oneside to the other side exceeds the.

behind the lips 14,. or

lips 14, and the other way by simply sliding them through the slits 15.

The box or body of the carton is made of comparatively cheap material, and the lips 14 would be liable to open downwardly too freely, if not reinforced. This reinforcing may be effected in either one of several ways. In Fig. 3 1 illustrate the reinforcement as consisting of a strip 16 fitting against the lower surface of the front wall of the carton and extending under the upper lip 14, another strip 17 fitting the back of the acute angled lower portion of the carton and extending under the lower lip 14. These reinforcements 16, 17 may be permanently secured in the locations illustrated and described by any suitable means, such as by crimping.

When the box 12 is filled with the cups and is shipped to a customer, suitable rupturable strips 18 are attached, so as to hold the cups and prevent them from being forced directly outward through the opening between the lips 14. Said strips 18 preferably consist of strong paper slips, glued at their ends, but so that they can be readily torn away when the customer puts the dispenser up in position forusers to withdraw individual cups. 1

Various devices may be employed to support the carton in the dispensing position. One method is illustrated in Fig. 3. For this purpose I provide the carton with upper and lower parallel slits 19. A bracket having a base 20 and formed with upper and lower tongues 21, 22, may be secured to any suitable support as by means of screws 23. The carton filled with cups may be simply hung upon the bracket by engaging the slits 19 with the tongues 21, 22. The user may then simply rupture the strips 18 if it be desired to remove the cups by grasping the fin handles a and sliding the lowermost cup a to the right or to the left. Of course, if the removal of the lowermost cup is to be effected by a friction pull against any por tion of its surface,-the strips 18 need not be ruptured.

Another form of combined reinforcement and support for the dispensing box or carton is illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 which represent a bracket consisting of a piece of sheet metal bent to form a web 26 of double thickness, the edges being bent outwardly to form attaching flanges 27, the sheet metal being also bent to form a pocket 28, rectangular in cross section, to receive the box 12, the lower end of the pocket 28 having flanges 29 30 which project inwardly toward each other to serve the double purpose of preventing the box 12 from sliding through the pocket, and to reinforce the bottom lips 14 .of the box 12.

The chief reason for having the lower end of the carton-dispenser inclined at one end,

which end is the lower end in use, is that a person desiring to remove an envelop can more readily see the fin handle a, and can more readily remove the cup, than if the lower end were horizontal, especially when the carton-dispenser is supported in such location that the lower end would be below the plane of the eyes of the person desiring a cup.

It is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the particular style of blank employed for making the carton, or to the mere location of the slits 19 in the middle portion of the blank, or to the employment of the slits 15. Of course, when the device is supported as indicated in Fig. 4, no slits 19 are required in the blank.

Preferably the reinforcing strips 16, 17, when used, are made of suitable metal, and are applied to the blank flat, to be later bent simultaneously with the lips 14. As indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, such strips are wider than the lips 14 and may be secured by means of integral tongues 31 forced through the material of the blank and clenched.

By my invention 1 have provided a complete box or container, capable of holding the cups during transportation, and ready for use as a dispenser without alteration other than the removal of the strips 18.

Since gravity is depended upon to insure the cups reaching dispensing position, the carton or receptacle is supported in a substantially vertical position. Consequently the inclination of the lower end enables the fin a of the bottom cup to be seen and readily taken hold of to pull that cup out.

1 do not claim herein a sanitary cup container imcombination with flat paper cups having fins, said container being formed with a slot or opening in its bottom of less area than'the aforesaid cup through which opening or slot the fin of the lowermost of a pile of said cups in the container is successively accessible to permit of grasping said fin and removing said cup, for the purpose specified, as the same is claimed in my application #782,157 filed July 31, 1913.

I claim:

1. A carton for flat paper articles adapted to be shipped with said articles securely held therein, said carton comprising a single blank folded to form four continuous side walls and an end closure composed of interfolded flaps, the other end having lips extending toward each other from two of the side walls, a space or opening being provided between said lips through which the articles may be removed singly by bend ng them"; "means being provided for preventing the weight of the articles in the carton, or the act of removing them through said opening, from bending the lips outwardly from their retaining positions.

2. A carton for fiat paper articles adapted to be shipped with said articles securely held blank folded to form four continuous side walls and an end closure composed of inter folded flaps, the other end having lips extending toward each other from two of the side walls, a space or opening being pro- Vided between said lips through which the.

articles may be removed singly by bending them, said lips being reinforced to prevent them from being bent outwardly by the weight of the articles in the carton or the act of removing them through said opening.

3. A blank for making a carton for fiat flexible articles, said blank having interengaging Wings and having two lips projecting in the same direction from a mid-width portion and from one Wing of the blank to present two parallel and separated retain ing lips when the blank is folded to carton form, the portions of the blank having said lips being provided with reinforcing members.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

I EDWARD C. BALDWIN.

Witnesses:

A. W. HARRISON,

GEORGE A, ROCKWEL 

